Her name was Bella

[smirkymonkey]

http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2015/09/18/police-identify-boston-s-baby-doe.html

he toddler found in a bag on an island has a name. Her mother’s boyfriend, Michael McCarthy, has been charged with her murder.
UPDATE, 9/18 - 5:05 p.m.: This story was updated to include charges for Michael McCarthy, who police have arrested for the murder of Bella Bond.

BOSTON — “Baby Doe” has a name: Bella. And now the police believe they have found her killer.

Police have identified the girl found dead inside a bag this summer on Deer Island as the daughter of Rachelle Bond of Boston. They believe she was 2-1/2 years old.


Now, police say they are charging Michael McCarthy, the boyfriend of Rachelle Bond, with murder, The Daily Beast has learned. Bond is being charged with accessory to murder after the fact. McCarthy and Bond will be arraigned on Monday at Dorchester Municipal Court."

This was such a tragic case here in Boston, but I believe that the story was of national interest as well.

It's so sad looking at the photos of the happy little girl in the media and finally learning of how she met her early death. Some people should not be allowed to reproduce.

[7wo7rees]

1. Everyone responsible failed a baby. Heartbreaking. ,, nt

[smirkymonkey]

3. The buzz here in Boston is "How can an entire community have not put

2 and 2 together when this case was so highly publicized?" It was all over the news, there were billboards everywhere with a police composite sketch of what she might have looked like (which was pretty much spot on) and nobody thought to call in an anonymous tip? It's really insane if you think about it. People said that another man moved in and the crying stopped. Nobody saw the little girl anymore. Did they not even think it could possibly be Baby Doe?

[Demeter]

32. Well, that's one reason why I got out of MA and went home to Michigan

New England is a different kettle of fish, and Massachusetts is the worst.

[shenmue]

2. ...

[smirkymonkey]

4. It kind of baffles me how this story has completely flown under the DU Radar.

It's a horrible story about the state of our families and CPS and nobody here really seems to care about this poor little girl and her story.

[JI7]

5. sadly there have been many stories like this

When it's their own parents who fail them it's hard to think of what to do to prevent it.

[smirkymonkey]

7. This one is all over the national media. It's not just an isolated local case.

If you read a bit more about it, you see how absolutely tragic it is.

[JI7]

9. i followed it from the time they released the first reconstructed pics

As i say there have been too many of these type of cases

[Stargazer09]

6. That poor little girl

I just don't understand how anyone could hurt or kill a child. I just don't understand.

[greatlaurel]

8. Children's services are failing children across the country. Child abuse is not new.

Children are being abused and murdered throughout the United States due to the massive cuts to children's service agencies in every state or the flat out refusal by politicians to even fund children services in the first place. Budget cuts are massive and the few remaining staff are overworked, underpaid, ignored and then maligned in the news media when abusers kill a child. Children are not important in our society.

I am so tired of seeing children who are abused never getting any help or returned to abusive situations without any protections. So many times children are removed from situations, but returned to save money rather than for the good of the child.

The United States, Massachusetts, Boston, the immediate community where she lived and all the adults in her life failed this little girl. Where are all the forced birthers? Should they not be protesting the murder of the little girl and demanding action from the government to protect children after they are born? They are only concerned with shaming and abusing women, not protecting the lives of children once they are born. They never protest child abuse. It is very telling what those people are all about.

Rest in peace, baby, rest in peace.

[JI7]

10. In this case i think the autopsy show treated ok before she was killed

At least they didn't find what could be long term physical abuse.

It's difficult when its your own parents .

The info about the community stands out more and i hope someone asks them about it.

[smirkymonkey]

15. No, she wasn't chronically abused but she was in a bad situation that should

have been monitored more closely. The mother had 2 other children taken away from her. Read a bit more about it and you will see what I mean. The child should have been removed from the home long ago.

[JI7]

19. looks like the bio father is a problem also

As he seems to be defending the mother

[smirkymonkey]

23. Yes, where was he? Where were the grandparents, the aunts and uncles (you will see that she had

them if you read more about it). This poor little girl didn't have a chance in hell.

[JI7]

30. they met in a tent at occupy boston

I guess many of these stories about type of people there were true.

While the movement itself and people involved in it were not at fault and themselves were trying to do good.

There were some who took advantage of it for their own selfish needs.

[greatlaurel]

41. The mother already had two children taken away and this poor baby was left with her mother. Awful.

This child was left in the company of a drug addled mentally disturbed individual. Someone had to know the child was in danger.

Parents who choose a boyfriend or girlfriend over their children make no sense to me.

[smirkymonkey]

43. I know, that is what I mean. Why was this allowed to happen?

Nobody seemed to care about the welfare of the child. It was all about the rights of the drug addicted adults. This is so wrong. People don't have a right to children that they can care for properly.

[smirkymonkey]

11. +1000

Her family failed her, child services failed her, the community failed her. Why are people so reluctant to get involved when it is so obvious that a child is being brought up in dangerous and harmful circumstances?

[awoke_in_2003]

13. Sadly, children's services are severely underfunded...

because we need to keep building damn aircraft carriers to name after republican presidents.

[smirkymonkey]

16. And that is a huge part of the problem. The issue with this case that is so

strange is how could nobody in the extended family or community not have connected the dots on this highly publicized case and come forward with questions, or checked up on the family or have called in an anonymous tip. It was such a huge fail all the way around.

[awoke_in_2003]

17. It is heartbreaking...

I hope she didn't suffer much.

[Duppers]

34. + another 1000

[awoke_in_2003]

12. I gave my (almost) two year old granddaughter

a really big hug last night. I saw her running around in her Wonder Woman pajamas and thought "how do people do shit like this?".

[R. Daneel Olivaw]

14. Supposedly he beat her to death because

she had a demon inside her...or so the news is unfolding.

They keot her in a refridgerator for a month.

Life is fucking cruel.

[awoke_in_2003]

18. I try really hard

to remain anti-death penalty. That is sometimes really difficult.

[smirkymonkey]

20. I don't understand how women can put some short term (or even long term) boyfriend

above their own child. He was one of a string of drug addicted boyfriends that she had in and out of the apartment. She not only put him first, but she covered up for him. I really don't understand how you could not put your own child first.

[R. Daneel Olivaw]

25. Neither can I. I have a four year old so

I empathize greatly with what is going on. My wife says that this girl was let diwn by everybody, and she us unfortunately right.

[JI7]

28. i know someone like that

She use to always go on shout jesus and judge others.

First guy she had a kid with is in prison for murder. Now she is with one another one she just recently had a kid with. He had locked her and her daughter in a room . Her daughter now lives with her dad and stepmother. But she prefers to stay with the guy who doesn't help in any way with their son that was recently born.

Both of these guys were already deadbeats also.

I would never be with any guy who treats any kid badly.

[smirkymonkey]

38. That's so sad. That is why we need to stress the importance of raising women

with self esteem. Who don't feel like they are nothing without a man. Women who put their children first and will stand on their own before allowing another man to abuse their own children.

[sarge43]

21. Peaceful passage, Lamb

No one can hurt you now. Forgive us.

[MissDeeds]

24. +1

Beautifully said.

[perdita9]

27. Agreed

[Warren DeMontague]

22. Ugh.

[perdita9]

26. I wish people had to pass a test in judgment and humanity before becoming parents

I really do. People who aren't prepared to take care of their children shouldn't have them.

[smirkymonkey]

29. I agree with you. And I know it is absolutely the opposite of liberal, but

I really think that people who have been shown to be neglectful or abusive parents should be sterilized. I don't think it is a god given right to bring children into the world . They are the ones who suffer for their parent's flaws.

[killbotfactory]

31. being able to predict how someone will handle a pregnancy and child is pretty difficult

but I can guarantee that the people involved in this were without much support and suffered a lot of abuse themselves as kids

[smirkymonkey]

35. Yes, and I agree that there are a whole lot of factors that created this situation.

But having some compassion for the circumstances of the perpetrators should not allow for indifference where the victim is concerned. I get the feeling that a lot of people here are thinking "Oh well, the parents were poor, drug addicted people, that's life". The indifference here is shocking to me.

[killbotfactory]

37. I just wish we had a better social safety net. nt

[smirkymonkey]

33. Christ, even the right wing Daily Mail is outdoing us in the compassion department.

[secondwind]

36. RIP little Bella.. :-(

[newblewtoo]

39. Tragic.

Heartbreaking. Two of the words which come to mind. Such a beautiful child cast aside like a piece of garbage. Why it makes any difference where she was conceived is beyond me, where her extended family was leaves me scratching my head. What I do know is that drugs and alcohol make people do bad things. Where were social services? We are talking about Massachusetts not Alabama for cripes sake. I would like to believe this little angel goes straight to heaven, her killers straight to hell (metaphorical they are already there).

[smirkymonkey]

40. Yes, that was what was so sad. She was deposited on a beach like a piece of trash. How

heartless! How cruel. Drugs and alcohol are no excuse. Give your child up if you can't take care of her/him. Have at least enough awareness to know that you are not a good parent and do what is best for your child.

[jtuck004]

42. The healthy man does not torture others - generally it is the tortured who turn into torturers.

Carl Jung

I wonder who made her parents for us? Home, school, work...lots of places they could have become like this.

And, of course, we let our social budgets be cut so we can pay the the bank$ter/donors their hundreds of billions in entitlements and still keep our deficit down. (according to the author of Stress Test, and he oughta know.

So we might have intervened before she, and many others, died, but we let the few take the safety net of mental health services so we could have bigger houses, marble counter tops, always increasing 401Ks. 'Till the bills came due, and we found that there were even greedier people to take it from us. So we dropped those on the 100 million people least able to pay for it.

Rest in peace, kid.



Read more at http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/c/carljung165965.html#zXRX2SDcAgVf0UMm.99

[smirkymonkey]

44. +1000

[smirkymonkey]

45. Why is this so unpopular on DU?

It amazes me at how many stupid posts get attention, but something like this is ignored. What is wrong with people that they cannot see the tragedy of this? Are we just so hardened that the deaths of young children no longer register with us?

[mackerel]

46. It's not unpoplar, a lot people read the threads posted at the time and

are reading this thread. It's sad to be sure. Little Bella is at peace now. The mother and her boyfriend will serve a little time and the mother will be out to reproduce in 3-5 years. It's a vicious cycle.

[smirkymonkey]

48. Yes, but it saddens me when so many people on right wing or MSM websites could

pour out their sympathy in droves and here at DU its almost *crickets*. What is wrong with us? Is our empathy just that impaired?

[Ilsa]

47. It's heartbreaking and I can't find the words. nt

[smirkymonkey]

49. K&R